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Tankmates for auratus, 29g set up?

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I have a few questions, here is the background. Im getting my tank squared away after losing most of my fish - not sure what the cause was, most levels checked out. Have had Cichlids for about 10yrs.

PH is currently around 8.6, ammonia and nitrite are fine, nitrate is high. Curretly have a 3" auratus (seems aggressive) and a 3" mix mumba born in the tank. Plenty of rocks and a sand / coral substrate. Looking to add more fish.

Do I try to work around these two or turn them in to a dealer and start new? Would love to go with Aulonocaras at some point.
Is 8.6 ok or should I try to get down to 8.2? if yes whats the best way?
Do I need to be concerned about the nitrate? should I get Nitra Zorb.

Turn these in asap. The auratus is going to give you hell and the tank isnt big enough.

You could do a single species of Peacock with 1 male and 4-5 females in that tank but it would be hard to justify an all male peacock tank. You need at least a 4ft tank for that to give enough space for the fish to hide.

Sorry to burst your bubble but auratus is not a fish to be kept in a mixed Malawi tank. They have foul tempers and are the most agressive African cichlid I can think of.

Others may disagree with me here, but I don't think you should be keeping Malawis in a 29g. It just isn't big enough for very active species. Peacocks reach 4-6" adult size and that will be quite cramped in your tank.

Have you considered some of the smaller Tanganyikan species? You could keep a decent group of some of the smaller Julidochromis species (cave dwellers that need plenty of built up rockwork) and some shell-dwelling species such as Multifasciatus in open sandy, shell-strewn areas of the tank. Lamprologus Ocellatus "Gold" is a very attractive shell-dweller, but in my experience not best for community set-ups due to their aggression. One day I'd like a species only tank of these.

Or if you fancy a species only tank I can strongly recommend Neolamprologus Pulcher "Daffodil". They are stunning in adult colour and when paired up, will breed and rear the family. Very interesting behaviour. Family members will assist with further fry-rearing. NOT to be kept with other tankmates though as they are likely to be killed.

Thanks for the advice, was giving that some thought already - I'm going with a Tanganyikan set up, tured in the malawis yesterday. Have reset the tank with rocky areas and open sand, shells are on order. Would this work for stocking? Tank dimensions are 36x12x18

Sounds good - although be aware that leleupi are very aggressive and can become horrible bullies. I'm not sure I'd keep more that 1 in that tank. The julies will inhabit the caves and the leleupis will compete (and win) for territory.

A calvus will be ok singly. They're awesome looking fish.

Good choice on multies, they are active little scapers - if you break up the eye-line in your tank you might get away with 5. Check out the videos from jeffs99dime on here. He has a great multie tank. One of his videos is here: